In blow to DC Studios, 'Supergirl' is no match for 'Toy Story 5' at box
office
[June 29, 2026]
By JAKE COYLE
NEW YORK (AP) — In a setback for Warner Bros.′ revamped DC movie
operations, “Supergirl” was absolutely no match for “Toy Story 5” at the
box office, opening a distant second to the Pixar blockbuster.
After a near-record debut for an animated movie, “Toy Story 5” remained
No. 1 at the box office with $70 million in domestic ticket sales and
another $89.1 million overseas, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The Walt Disney Co. release has in two weeks quickly amassed $585
million globally, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.
“Supergirl,” however, failed to lift off. It opened with $38 million in
U.S. and Canadian theaters. It added $30 million in overseas markets.
Craig Gillespie’s superhero spinoff is the second big-screen release
from James Gunn and Peter Safran, who were tapped to lead DC Studios in
late 2022. Their first release, 2025’s “Superman,” grossed $618 million
worldwide, a strong-enough start for Gunn and Safran.
But “Supergirl” flopped with both critics and moviegoers. Reportedly
trimmed significantly after test screenings, Gillespie’s film landed
poor reviews (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a “B-” CinemaScore from
audiences.
The poor opening weekend for “Supergirl” puts it behind the
disappointing debuts of DC busts like “The Flash” ($55 million in 2023)
and “The Green Lantern” ($53 million in 2011), and only barely ahead of
“Joker: Folie à Deux” ($37.7 million in 2024).
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe, noted
superhero movies no longer drive the box office like they did
pre-pandemic. There are fewer yearly releases, and the box office in the
genre is down approximately $3.5 billion annually from its highs in
2017-2019.
After huge successes like “Wonder Woman” ($822 million in 2017) and
“Captain Marvel” ($1.13 billion in 2019), female-fronted superhero
movies have also taken a downturn.
“You’ll hear general explanations like ‘the audience lost interest.’
Yes, they did,” said Gross. “But no one has been able to explain why it
happened so suddenly and so completely. Why female superheroes in
particular, after their sensational starts? We don’t understand it
either.”
The stumble for “Supergirl,” which cost $170 million to make, comes as
Warner Bros. Discovery, the film studio’s parent company, is preparing
to be acquired by Paramount Skydance. David Ellison, Paramount chief
executive, recently met with Gunn and Safran.
The next DC release is “Clayface,” a body horror take on the DC
character, to be released in October. Gunn’s “Superman” follow-up, “Man
of Tomorrow,” is currently in production. It’s dated for July 2027.
Gunn, who serves as a producer on “Supergirl,” handed directing duties
to Gillespie, the filmmaker of “I, Tonya” and “Cruella.” Milly Alcock,
who briefly appeared in “Superman,” stars as Supergirl, or Lara Zor-El,
a younger cousin to Superman who’s more of a party girl than a world
saver.
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Director Craig Gillespie, from left, Peter Safran, Milly Alcock, and
James Gunn attend the DC Studios' world premiere of "Supergirl" at
The Plaza at 300 Ashland on Monday, June 22, 2026, in New York.
(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
 Paramount Pictures’ “Jackass: Best
and Last” was the weekend’s other new wide release. The latest stunt
compilation from Johnny Knoxville and company opened with a modest
$8.4 million from 2,855 North American theaters. While that’s a good
result for a movie that cost just $10 million to make, the 2022
installment, “Jackass Forever,” debuted with $23 million before
ultimately grossing $80 million worldwide.
Olivia Wilde’s dinner party comedy “The Invite” notched one of the
best per-screen averages of the year. Opening on seven screens in
New York and Los Angeles, it debuted with $379,104, good for a
per-screen average of $54,158.
Wilde’s third film as director stars herself, Seth Rogen, Penélope
Cruz and Edward Norton as a pair of San Francisco couples who meet
for an impromptu night together. A24 acquired the film after its
buzzy Sundance Film Festival premiere. The indie distributor is
hoping “The Invite,” which will expand next week and go nationwide
on July 10, can revive the largely dormant summer comedy.
The micro-budget horror phenomenon “Obsession” continued to hold
unusually strong. It took third place on the weekend with $9.8
million in its seventh weekend of release. Curry Barker’s film, made
for less than $1 million, has now collected $233.9 million
domestically for Focus Features, plus $108.9 million
internationally.
Such legs, however, haven’t materialized for Steven Spielberg’s
sci-fi thriller “Disclosure Day.” In the Universal Pictures’ third
weekend of release, it slipped to fifth place with $8.1 million in
domestic theaters. Spielberg's UFO tale has grossed $193.7 million
globally in three weeks.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors
in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and
Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:
1. “Toy Story 5,” $70 million.
2. “Supergirl,” $38 million.
3. “Obsession,” $9.8 million.
4. “Jackass: Best and Last,” $8.4 million.
5. “Disclosure Day,” $8.1 million.
6. “Backrooms,” $4.3 million.
7. “Scary Movie,” $3 million.
8. “Masters of the Universe,” $2.2 million.
9. “Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity," $2 million.
10. “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” $1.6 million.
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